My research is mainly focus in studying the differentiation of
umbilical cord blood (UCB) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSC)
into blood platelets. The main idea explored herein is to integrate a
high yield HSC expansion stage with an efficient Megakaryocyte
differentiation stage and then maturation into blood platelets. I
intend to design a system that allows a certain degree of independent
optimal conditions for each stage, achieving high yields of platelet
production. The ultimate goal of my work is to gain knowledge to be
applied towards the development of a bioreactor system able to produce
platelets in vitro from stem cells. My research interests are stem cell
bioengineering, cell and soft tissue biomechanics, and finite element
modeling in bioengineering.